DOI: 10.11648/j.ijhnm.20261201.12 ISSN: 2472-2316

Understanding Susceptibility Through Trauma, Personality Types and Epigenetics - A Conceptual Review Integrating the Enneagram Model with Homoeopathic Philosophy

Ekta Tiwary
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Susceptibility is a fundamental concept in homoeopathy that explains an individual's capacity to respond to environmental influences, disease-producing agents, and therapeutic interventions. According to Samuel Hahnemann, disease develops only when the organism possesses the necessary susceptibility, making it a central determinant of health, illness, and recovery. Rather than representing merely a physical predisposition, susceptibility reflects the dynamic interplay of mental, emotional, and constitutional factors that influence an individual's response to internal and external stimuli, thereby forming the basis of individualized case-taking and remedy selection in classical homoeopathy. Recent advances in trauma psychology and epigenetics have provided compelling evidence that adverse life experiences, particularly emotional trauma during early developmental stages, can induce long-lasting biological changes through epigenetic mechanisms that alter gene expression without modifying the DNA sequence, thereby influencing stress responses, immune function, emotional regulation, and vulnerability to chronic diseases. Concurrently, the Enneagram of Personality offers a psychological framework for understanding enduring personality patterns that emerge from early childhood experiences and adaptive coping strategies, shaping emotional responses, behavioural tendencies, resilience, and potentially an individual's susceptibility to illness and response to treatment. This conceptual review explores the interrelationship between emotional trauma, epigenetic modifications, Enneagram personality patterns, and the homoeopathic concept of susceptibility in the light of Hahnemann's teachings in the Organon of Medicine . By integrating insights from classical homoeopathic philosophy with contemporary developments in trauma psychology, personality theory, and epigenetics, the review proposes a broader and more comprehensive understanding of susceptibility that may enhance individualized patient assessment and remedy selection, reinforce the holistic foundations of homoeopathy, promote patient-centred clinical practice, and demonstrate the continuing relevance of homoeopathic principles within contemporary integrative and personalized healthcare.

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